The Hero of Time : Alliances
by D.L. SchizoAuthoress
Summary: Sequel to You Can Never Go Home Again After the events of OoT and MM, Link has returned to Kokiri Forest. One winter evening, a Shiekah comes to the Forest and asks Link for help, thus beginning another adventure for the Hero of Time.


Title: The Hero of Time: Alliances  
  
Rating: PG-13/R (later chapters will elevate the rating)  
  
Warnings: Possible AU. Slashiness. Angst. Death. Language. Violence.  
  
A/N: This is the follow-up to "The Watcher" and "You Can Never Go Home Again." Basically, it picks up where YCNGHA left off and elaborates on certain things alluded to in "The Watcher." Again, all Korisai words and phrases are translated rather quickly.   
  
Also, I'm using a lot of the un-Nintendo-verified, official timeline from "Zelda Universe," but obviously not all, since I've chosen to flesh out the Zelda-verse in my own way. My exposure to actual game-play depends on whether my little brother wants the game, since the platforms--whiny sidenote: I want a Gamecube!--all belong to him. The last Zelda-game we got was "Ocarina of Time," so all my knowledge on the games that have come out since is secondhand.  
  
Basic Facts for the Story: Link was sent back to the year he was frozen in time (2280 Hyrulian Chronology) at the end of the 'Imprisoning War' of "Ocarina of Time." His adventures in Termina take place in 2281 H.C. This story begins six years after that, in 2287 H.C. It will elaborate my ideas on why the Hero of Time did not return to save Hyrule when Ganondorf broke the seal 100 years later. (Well, the first Link would probably be dead by then, but you know what I mean...)  
  
~*~Dedicated to Chibidragon7~*~  
  
****  
  
"The Hero of Time: Alliances" (a legend of zelda fanfic by D.L. SchizoAuthoress)  
  
"Chapter One: Sheik's Plea"  
  
Six months had passed since Link returned to Kokiri Forest. He was something of a curiosity to the Children of the Forest--sometimes, he felt as though he truly did not belong anymore, that he should leave. But, stubbornly and despite his own misgivings, he remained. Saria, his best friend still, was the only one who regularly visited him, the only one who seemed not to care how different he was. Mido was distant from all, rarely ever in the village, and there were disconcerted murmurs about this.   
  
Mostly, however, the Kokiri chose to ignore the unusual among them--Mido was missed sometimes because his judgment was sought, but Link felt isolated from his former friends. He spent his days wandering the forest and the Lost Woods, listening to Saria, or practicing his swordsmanship. His adventures in Termina six years prior had taught him that peace in Hyrule Kingdom did not guarantee peace for the Hero of Time, and he wished to keep his warrior skills sharp.   
  
The forests were becoming bare and cold with winter, yet the Kokiri seemed unaffected by this. Perhaps their play became more sedate, perhaps their laughter was quieter, but otherwise, the Children of the Forest kept up the same activities. Link, being a Hylian, retreated to his small home and activated wards to keep warmth within its walls. With little else to do, he would sit in silence and idly carve shapes out of bits of dead wood. Usually a small idol-like representation of one of the Hyrulian races was the end result. He had a Kokiri, a Goron, a Hylian, and a Sheikah--the last bore a strong resemblance to Impa--but the Zoras were giving him quite a bit of trouble. He had quite a few aborted attempts piled on the floor and was always trying again.   
  
It was thus that Mido found him one icy winter morning. The Leader of the Kokiri was very pale and breathing hard with exertion. "Link! Come, a stranger asks for you!"  
  
Link got to his feet and demanded, "What do you mean?"  
  
"We know him not, but he claims to know you. Come now, he's badly hurt and won't let us tend him until he speaks to you." Mido grabbed the young man's hand and tugged ineffectually until Link followed.   
  
Kokiri Forest was buried under thick swathes of snow, the air thick with chill. Link shivered and silently thanked Malon again for being so kind as to make him winter garments, including heavy leather boots lined with plush rabbits' fur. Mido ran ahead, Link jogging to keep up, and they stopped at Mido's village home.   
  
"I've had to place warming wards on this place to keep him comfortable...it's much hotter than your home, Link-tiri, just so you know." Mido informed him, pushing aside the green cloth that hung in the front doorway.   
  
Link followed, stooping slightly to clear the low doorframe. The heat of the room was great, but not unbearable. A few Kokiri were gathered around a large bed, moving about and speaking to the invalid in low, worried tones.   
  
"Leave me, leave me," a low, gruff voice snapped. "I need to see Link."  
  
"He's here, you stubborn mule of a Sheikah!" Mido exclaimed. "And Goddesses help you speak quickly!"  
  
Link hurried forward. The forest-children moved away from the bed, revealing its occupant. Link successfully hid a gasp, but he still stared in surprise. A young man lay on the bed; his red eyes full of pain, his sandy hair and cream-colored clothing spotted with blood.   
  
"Sheik?" Link asked uncertainly. Sheik nodded.   
  
"It is I. Link, you must help me. The Sheikah...need you...need the Hero..."   
  
Mido was on the other side of the bed in an instant, brown eyes blazing with fury. "Is that all?" he demanded, "Is that all you had to say to him? Ve naitu morso!"   
  
"You could die," Link translated, seeing Sheik's confused look.   
  
Mido turned to the Kokiri. "Zante ne ena shule, na bana wi t'mairu mors," he ordered. "Tend to this fool, make sure that he doesn't die."  
  
****  
  
Link stared at Sheik, now sleeping peacefully under the influence of sleeping charms and healing spells. Mido sat beside him, looking wan and tired. The little boy glared at the sleeping Sheikah, muttering,   
  
"Shadow Folk have always been terribly stubborn."  
  
"I never knew...I thought that he wasn't real..." Link whispered.   
  
Mido looked shrewdly at his Hylian charge. "Zelda took his place just before you went to the Temple of Time. From what Saria has told me, the Sages called him away."  
  
"Why?" Link asked softly.   
  
"Only the Seventh Sage could have given you the Arrows of Light."  
  
"She lied to me," Link murmured, "She dressed as Sheik and pretended as though she had been him all along."  
  
Mido shrugged. "I cannot tell you why she would do such a thing. But I would assume that she was jealous of Sheik."  
  
"What?" Shocked, Link stared at his friend. "But, why? What could she be jealous of?"  
  
"Perhaps, like me, she wished to be of more use to your quest." Mido sighed. "As I said, I cannot be sure. You would have to ask her." They both lapsed into a silence that was comfortable and companionable.   
  
"I should stay here," Link spoke up after a few minutes. "In case Sheik wants to speak to me when he wakes up."  
  
Mido smiled. "Of course he will. He was sent on some sort of mission, that much I can tell without help. Have Navi come find me when he wakes."  
  
****  
  
Link judged it to be about midnight when Sheik awoke, finally. The young man groaned and tried to sit up, but Link was there to gently hold him down, reproaching him, "You'll pass out again if you over-exert yourself, Sheik. Please, lie still."  
  
Sheik sighed heavily and did as he was asked. He mumbled hoarsely, "Is there water?"   
  
Link nodded and fetched a cup of water. As he did so, he signaled Navi to locate Mido; the fairy immediately flew out the window into the cold night. Link returned to Sheik's bedside and helped him sit up just enough to drink. Compassionate lapis-blue eyes met a pained crimson gaze, and Link tenderly brushed back the Sheikah's long, sand-colored bangs.   
  
"Are you feeling any better?"  
  
"Actually," Sheik stated dryly, "I feel a bit as though a few dozen Gorons rolled over me."  
  
"Well, I know that one's rather unpleasant," Link replied, "but I couldn't imagine a dozen."  
  
Sheik smiled. Link dropped his eyes to the bedspread and fiddled with the empty wooden mug.   
  
"You were...vague, when we spoke earlier. You said that the Sheikah needed the Hero, and then--"  
  
"And then that little hellion, the apple-cheeked kid, he cut in and started ranting at me." Sheik interrupted sullenly. Link grinned and mock-scolded,   
  
"That 'apple-cheeked kid,' as you call him, is the Leader of all the Kokiri; the oldest and wisest of all the Great Deku Tree's children." Link wagged his finger in imitation of a chiding housewife, "Don't disrespect Mido that way, or I shall be forced to defend his honor, and the honor of all my adopted kin."  
  
Sheik slid down to rest his head on the pillows once more. He closed his eyes and smiled again, seemingly unaffected by Link's words. "Well, if Mido is the oldest and wisest of his people, they must not be very old at all."  
  
"I must contradict you, Sheik." Mido spoke from the doorway. The small boy approached the bed that had overtaken his own sleeping area, smiling serenely. "My people were first of the races to come into being; I was born one hundred and eighty-two years after the Triad had departed from the world."  
  
Opening his eyes, Sheik protested, "You cannot be two thousand years old!"   
  
"I can, and I am over two thousand." Mido pressed a cool, soothing palm to Sheik's brow. He said seriously, "Your fever will rise, to burn out the infections of your injuries. The worst is the gash upon your belly; tell me, how did you acquire that?"  
  
"From the business end of a Gerudo bitch's saber," Sheik growled. "I didn't receive it by choice."  
  
"I would be concerned if you did." Mido replied mildly. "When did this happen?"  
  
Sheik was quiet for a moment. When he spoke, it was very softly. "I was riding in the Desert Waste, coming back to Hyrule. My people need Link's help. I had very nearly reached the scrublands when a band of Gerudo women swarmed me. I managed to evade all but one," Sheik lightly touched the thick wrappings on his abdomen, "the one who gave me this. And I rode on, but my horse caught his foreleg and fell in the Fields, broke the bone. He had to be killed, quickly. Then I continued on foot, to the forests."  
  
"You could not have known that Link was here." Mido stated. Sheik shook his head.   
  
"No, that was not...not the reason I came. I had heard a myth, a tale about forest people who took in the sick and injured...it was just a story to me, but I was desperate. You see," Sheik smiled ruefully, "I never knew any Kokiri personally, save Saria the Forest Sage. And even Saria I had never seen face-to-face. Her spiritual presence is quite powerful...I could not imagine that she was a child.  
  
"But I saw the Kokiri, and I was reminded of Link, when I saw him come out of the Sacred Realm. I realized that they, that you, must know Link."  
  
"What do you mean, 'your people'?" Link asked. "Impa said that all the Sheikah were wiped out in the Great War."  
  
Mido answered for the sick Sheikah. "Impa does not know of the Shadow Folk outside of Hyrule. There must be a settlement, west of the Desert Waste, yes?"  
  
Sheik nodded. "A small one, a struggling one. Some have sensed an evil coming toward us and toward Hyrule, for the past year."  
  
"Ganon?" Link demanded.  
  
"No, something else. I was not told what exactly. I was only to find you and bring you to the Vale of Shadows."   
  
Mido looked stern again. "That is enough for now. You must rest, and so must Link."  
  
"What about you?" Link inquired, concerned.   
  
"Tomorrow, when Saria can watch him, I shall sleep. Go now, Link, and have peaceful dreams."  
  
"Io ma vey peghrit l'kwe, Mido-tiri." Link responded, pulling on his boots and leaving the small home.  
  
****  
  
The next morning, a high, impatient voice cried, "Hey! Wake up!" rather close to his ear. Link groaned and turned over, burying his head beneath his pillow. Navi persisted, "Wake up! Link, wake up!"  
  
Grumbles came from beneath the pillow, sleepy and a bit profane. Navi scowled darkly.  
  
"Some things never change. Oi! You lazy boy, get up out of that bed, or I'll light a fire on your behind!"  
  
"I'm up!" Link shouted, and lifted the pillow from his head. Voice clearer now, Link repeated, "I'm up! Go bother some other fairy, like Kefl or Tiru or somebody!" The blond boy flipped over onto his back and stretched his whole body like a cat. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Link sat up and found that he was facing the irate, glowing ball of light that was Navi.   
  
"You should treat me with more respect! I am your guardian, your partner, and your friend! Didn't I help you in your quest to stop Ganondorf Dragmire? Didn't I watch your back in the all those caves and caverns and dungeons?" There was a distinct red tint of anger in Navi's aura as she cried shrilly, "And then, when I'm simply trying to wake you up because Mido said to, you yell at me and say I'm a bother!"  
  
Link's forehead crinkled with concern as he took in Navi's words. He lifted a palm and said apologetically, "I'm sorry, Navi. I am, really. You know I'm not a morning person..."  
  
"Well..." Navi was reluctant to give up on her anger. She drifted down to settle on Link's hand as the red of her aura began fading to a pale pink. "I know that. But it still hurts when you say things like you don't want me around."  
  
"I /do/ want you around!" Link exclaimed, "You're a big help; I know I wouldn't have gotten so far so fast without you to help me!"  
  
"Really?" Navi's light had gone pure white again. Link nodded seriously. There was a gleam of bright green as Navi zipped up, excited, and did a few loops in air before taking her customary place on top of Link's head. She tugged insistently on strands of Link's golden hair. "Then let's go to Mido's house--I think Sheik wants to see you!"  
  
~~To be continued...~~ 


End file.
